Baba Jassa Singh, the elected supreme commander of the Sikh Federation or ‘Misls‘, during the struggle of Sikh people for freedom, was born on May 3, 1718, in a small village Ahlu, near Lahore, now in Pakistan. His father, Sardar Badr Singh died when he was just five. His mother, a noble lady of deep religious convictions, brought him up with the help of her brother Sardar Bagh Singh. They took young Jassa Singh to Delhi in 1723 to seek the blessings of Guru Gobind Singh‘s spouse, Mata Sundarji, who lived in Delhi at that time.

Mata Sundarji looked after Jassa Singh as her own child. He soon developed into a promising youth, well-versed in Persian and Arabic and became proficient and adept in the use of arms.

It was under the guidance of the great leader of the Sikhs of the age, Nawab Kapur Singh Faizullahpuria (who adopted him as his son) that Jassa Singh got his early training in the art of warfare and state-craft. After the death of Nawab Kapur Singh in 1753 he was acclaimed as the national leader of the Panth and was hailed as the ‘Padishah’ or ‘Sultan–ul–Qaum’ of the Sikhs after their conquest of Lahore in November 1761.

Some contemporary writers have described the personal appearance of the Sardar in glowing terms. According to them he was a tall, fair-complexioned, muscular man with a long flowing beard and like the great Arjuna (also known as ‘mahabahu’ – the long-armed one) he had extraordinarily long arms reaching upto his knees. He wore a simple white dress, carrying heavy armour.

He was not only a great warrior and hero, but was also regarded as the spiritual leader of the Sikhs.